Most people dispersed; Jamal and Michael closed in.
“Boss,” Jamal rumbled, “don’t even think about entering that dungeon without us. Agreed?”
Before Ben could speak, Allison tapped Jamal’s large biceps. “You heard him. We go together. Ben’s not running off on his own.”
Ben grinned. “Wouldn’t dream of it. When you said ‘us,’ you meant Jamal, Michael, and me, right?”
“I meant exactly what I said,” Allison replied, folding her arms. “I’m coming too.”
Ben opened his mouth, then nodded. “Team of four, then.”
Jamal and Michael strode off. Ben, Allison, and Adam slipped into their office cabin—marble plaza gleaming outside—for them to plot their first day as a true Protectorate.
Ben took a slow breath. “Okay—first things first. I’ll open my status sheet, then we work through the rest.”
A translucent panel appeared before him. The attribute block confirmed what he’d sensed: Body 12, Mind 13, Magic 5—the +1 across the board and the 10 percent Body boost were already applied. Good.
STATUS
Name: Ben Jackson
Tier: 1
ATTRIBUTES
Body: 12
(Note: Down from 18 due to spinal injury)
Mind: 13
Magic: 5
PERKS
[General]
- [Analyze] — Grants insight into objects, creatures, and sapient beings. Not upgradeable.
- [Multi-Lingual] — Allows comprehension and communication across most sapient languages, verbal and written. Not upgradeable.
- [Knight Protector] — Establishes and governs a Protectorate; +1 to every attribute per settlement level; chosen core attribute (Body) gains +10 % per five dungeon tiers integrated. Unique
[Body]
- [Resilient Body] — When out of combat, your body will fix itself over time. Rare
- [Axe Handling] — Whether felling trees or your enemies, you are on the path to axe mastery. Uncommon
- [Spinal Injury] — Severe impairment of speed, agility, and lower-body strength.
[Mind]
- None
[Magic]
- None
“Once we head out, we’ll need transparency on everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, but that can wait. Settlement comes first.” He switched to the Settlement tab.
The once-bare screen was now packed with data.
“Wow—there’s a lot to digest. Let’s start with the most important topic: the name.” He grinned. “How do you feel about ‘Blue Mountain Forest Protectorate’?”
Allison arched a brow. “Not sure that’s top priority, but I’m fine with it.” Adam nodded.
“Great,” Ben said, scanning the Overview pane. “Settlement Level 1, Protector — me, core footprint 100 × 100 meters, overall Protectorate zone 500 × 500 meters.”
Adam frowned. “So that wild dungeon is only a few hundred meters away.”
“Looks like it,” Ben agreed. “Population reads ‘1’—just me.” He tapped the info icon. “Citizens have to register at a designated point. At the moment the only site is the central plinth—the ‘Protectorate Pillar.’ Someone loves alliteration.”
“We’ll register after the briefing,” Allison said. “Might even turn it into a little ceremony.”
“Works for me.” Ben paged down. “Next section: Appointments. Only slot right now is Administrator.” He glanced at Adam. “I tried to give it to you, but—no registration, no appointment.”
Adam gave an exaggerated bow. “Deeply honored. What exactly does an Administrator do?”
Ben read the tooltip: “Supports the Protector in managing population, infrastructure, and finances. Full access to the Settlement tab. Decision rights set by the Protector.”
“Interesting,” Adam said. “Park it for now; we’ll circle back.”
Allison squeezed Adam’s arm. “Thank you for sticking with us. Ben—and all of us—couldn’t ask for a better friend.”
Adam flushed. Ben rescued him with a fist bump—then shouting erupted outside. All three hurried to the door.
Across the plaza, past the lodges, Jamal, Michael, and Damien stood over a smoldering wolf carcass. They jogged over.
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“What happened?” Ben asked.
Jamal answered, “Wolf wandered in. Michael and I could’ve handled it, but Damien here was a big help. Tell ’em.”
Damien—broad-shouldered, early twenties—shuffled his feet. “Perk’s called [Flame Spark]. Short range, but my Magic stat’s above average, so it hit hard.”
“That’s fantastic,” Ben said. “Thanks for keeping watch. Can you three keep patrolling until the team meeting?”
They nodded and set off around the perimeter.
Ben turned to Allison and Adam. “Let’s finish up and figure out our next moves.”
Back in the office he opened the Finance panel. “Two parts: Settlement Credits—1 002 on hand, 505 monthly income; Taxes—currently zero.” He skimmed the help text. “Income sources: 500 SC per dungeon tier per month, five SC per citizen-tier per month, plus two SC for every Energy-born creature killed inside the zone. We can also convert personal credits to SCs at ten-to-one. Credits are what individuals earn by selling to the System; the settlement can tax them to pay salaries.”
“Paying employees is very important,” Adam deadpanned.
Ben grinned. “Working on it. The Infrastructure menu is split into Defense and General. The as-is is empty, but there is a shop available. Wow, it is huge. Let’s focus on Defense first—ah, here we go. With our current funds we can afford a Basic Palisade, 20 SC per 10 m. For our 400-meter perimeter that’s 800 SC.”
Allison nodded immediately. “Do it. People will sleep better tonight.”
“Agreed,” Adam said. “Will it appear the same way the plaza did?”
“Let’s find out.” They stepped outside to the Pillar. Ben chose the palisade and confirmed.
The pillar pulsed gold; at the boundary of the 100-meter square, sharpened logs rose from the earth and locked together into a two-meter wall with an inner footboard. A single gate formed on the north side.
Ben stared at it in wonder.
“Miracle after miracle.” Allison murmured.
They spent fifteen more minutes outlining priorities, then called the entire crew together for the team meeting.
Back in the mess hall, Ben addressed the team.
“First, a huge thank-you to Jamal, Michael, and Damien for taking down the wolf that slipped inside the settlement. It’s a reminder: the Protectorate is a great shield, but it also paints a target on us. We all need to stay alert.
“The basic palisade is only our first defensive step. We paid for it with Settlement Credits—the currency we earn for every dungeon tier we host, every Energy-born creature we kill inside the zone, and every registered citizen. Which brings me to our next task.”
He pointed toward the door. “After this briefing, everyone should head outside to the Protectorate Pillar and register as a citizen. That bump in population will boost our monthly income and unlock more options in the interface.”
Ben nodded to Adam. “Speaking of options: Adam will dig deeper into the settlement menu—prioritise what to build next—and work with each of you to map out personal growth plans. Your perks and goals need to feed into our overall strategy.”
He turned to Alison. “Mom will organize patrol shifts and first-response teams. Volunteers, please see her right after this session.”
Then back to the group: “This afternoon, Jamal, Michael, Mom, and I will clear the wild dungeon inside our borders. Stick to the patrol routes while we’re gone and stay inside the palisade. If anyone wants to run our ‘home’ dungeon later—coordinate with Mom so we keep its timer under control and share the growth opportunities.”
He paused. “Questions?”
Luz raised a hand. “We’re okay on food now, but our normal resupply run is in four days. Do we stick to that?”
Adam nodded. “Good catch. We’ll decide before the dungeon team heads out—or as soon as they get back.”
Markus, a veteran of fifteen years, spoke next. “I checked the news. Cities are holding up, but rural areas are getting hammered worldwide. I haven’t seen anything about Protectorates. Should we tell other people—like our families?”
Ben glanced at Alison, then answered. “For now, let’s keep the Protectorate quiet. We need solid footing before word spreads and desperate crowds show up. Talk to close family if you must, but stress the need for secrecy. We don’t yet have surplus food, housing, or credits to absorb newcomers. In a few weeks, maybe that changes—right now, caution.”
The room murmured agreement, the truth was few of them had huge families that they were still close to after having worked far from civilization for a long time or being part of the Second Chance program, which promoted staying away from unhealthy environments that had led people on the wrong path originally.
Alison clapped her hands. “All right—who wants to register?”
Smiling, she led a small procession outside. At the Pillar, she laid both hands on the marble, closed her eyes, and stepped back a moment later.
“Everything okay?” Ben asked.
“Fine,” she said. “The interface gives the Protector an option to add settlement values or tenets—something new citizens must accept. It’s blank for now. Something to draft before we invite outsiders.”
One by one, each team member registered. Then the group split: Alison and Adam collected volunteers and needs lists, while the dungeon party gathered gear for the mission ahead.
Meanwhile, Ben stepped into his office to use the camp's radio to call his sister.
“Hey, Julia.”
“Hi there. How are you?” she replied warmly.
“I'm good. Mom said you're fine. Is that true? How are the kids?”
“Yes, we’re all fine. Things are pretty crazy here. The kids actually haven't received any perks yet—I read online that apparently you only get them once you turn sixteen. They’re mostly excited about the whole thing.”
“That’s good to hear. And what about you—what’s your perk?”
Julia laughed softly. “It’s called [Healing Touch]. Seems like being a nurse influenced that quite a bit. It speeds up the healing of minor wounds.”
“That’s awesome. Congratulations. Is my favorite ex-brother-in-law around?”
“Yes, he’s here. As soon as those system messages started coming in, he insisted on staying over on the couch.”
“He’s a good guy, you know.”
“I know—you’ve been telling me that for years.”
They both chuckled, enjoying their familiar exchange. Ben’s tone turned more serious. “Listen, I don’t know how much Mom has told you, but we’ve got something significant going on here.” Briefly, he outlined the concept of the Protectorate and emphasized the need to keep it quiet for the time being.
“Oh, so my big brother’s officially a fancy knight now. Just don’t let it get to your head.”
“Mom won’t let it,” Ben said with a laugh. His voice softened, becoming earnest. “But seriously, one of my main reasons for doing this was to create a safe haven amidst all this craziness—for our family. Will you and the kids consider coming here? I'd gladly pick you up.”
Julia’s voice was gentle but firm. “I know you did this for us, Ben. I really do appreciate it. But things seem reasonably safe here at the moment. I have my job at the hospital, and the kids have their friends at school. For now, staying here feels like the right choice.”
Ben sighed lightly. “Alright, it’s your call. It's still early days; let us get things settled on our end, and we’ll revisit this later. Promise me, though, the moment things take a turn for the worse there, you'll call me immediately. I’ll come and get you myself.”
“I promise.”
Soon after ending the call, Ben sat quietly, reflecting on the conversation. After a moment, he reviewed the list of perks Adam had gathered earlier. His mother’s perk was nature-based magic called [Root Bind], allowing her to stimulate roots to grow rapidly from the earth. Jamal had a perk named [Beast Taunt], perfect for drawing animals' attention, while Michael possessed [Silent Step], significantly muffling noise from his movements and armor. Ben felt confident this diverse skill set would serve them well in the dungeon ahead.
Turning his attention back to the settlement interface, Ben appointed Adam as the Administrator. For now, he withheld decision-making rights, intending that they would decide on major matters together.